Last updated: June 2026. Written by Josh Hutcheson, OnlineCourseing editor. We compare options on merit, not on who pays the highest commission. See our review methodology.
QUICK VERDICT
Bottom line: If you want to learn interior design for yourself or a side hustle, start with Kelly Wearstler’s MasterClass for the design eye and Coursera’s interior design course for structure and a certificate. If you want to work as a professional interior designer, understand up front that no online course makes you “certified” — the real credential is the NCIDQ exam, which requires an accredited degree and work experience.
- Best for design inspiration: Kelly Wearstler Teaches Interior Design (MasterClass)
- Best structured course + certificate: Blueprint to Brilliance Through Interior Design (Coursera)
- Best online diploma: The Interior Design Institute
- Skip if: you expect an online course to license you to practice — that’s the NCIDQ, not a course.
Interior design is two different goals wearing the same name. One is learning the craft — colour, space planning, styling a room — for your own home, a styling side business, or a creative hobby. The other is becoming a credentialed professional who can take on commercial projects. Online courses are excellent for the first and only a starting point for the second. We checked the genuinely good options across MasterClass, Coursera, and the dedicated design schools, verified each was live and current, and explain honestly where a course ends and a professional credential begins.
See Our Top Pick on MasterClass →
The best interior design courses at a glance
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| Option | Type | Best for | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kelly Wearstler (MasterClass) | Video class | Design eye & inspiration | ~$10–15/mo |
| Blueprint to Brilliance (Coursera) | Structured course | Fundamentals + certificate | Free audit / sub |
| The Interior Design Institute | Online diploma | A portfolio + diploma | ~$1,000–3,000 |
| NCIDQ (council exam) | Pro credential | Practising professionally | Degree + exam |
Verified live in June 2026. We earn commission on MasterClass and Coursera; the schools and the NCIDQ are listed because they’re the honest answer, not because they pay us.
1. Kelly Wearstler Teaches Interior Design (MasterClass) — best for the design eye
Kelly Wearstler is one of the most influential interior designers working today, and her MasterClass is the best thing we’ve found for developing an actual design sensibility rather than just following rules. She walks through how she approaches colour, proportion, materials, and the confidence to mix styles, using her own projects as examples. It will not teach you AutoCAD or the business side, but for learning to see like a designer — the part that’s hardest to self-teach — it is excellent and beautifully produced.
It runs on a MasterClass subscription (around $10–15/month billed annually) that unlocks the whole catalogue, including design-adjacent classes on architecture and creativity. That makes it the best value if you’ll watch more than one. Treat it as inspiration and taste-building, paired with a more structured course for the fundamentals.
Best for: hobbyists and aspiring designers who want to build taste. Skip if: you need software training or a graded certificate.
2. Blueprint to Brilliance Through Interior Design (Coursera) — best structured course
Where MasterClass is inspiration, this Coursera course is structure. Blueprint to Brilliance Through Interior Design rates 4.4 across 169 reviews with nearly 20,000 enrolments, and it walks through the fundamentals in order — space planning, colour, lighting, and pulling a room together — the way a beginner actually needs. It is the better pick if you want a guided syllabus and a certificate at the end rather than a designer talking through their own taste.
You can audit it free if you only want the lessons, or pay for the Coursera certificate. It’s the most accessible “real course” entry point for someone testing whether interior design is for them before committing to an expensive diploma.
Best for: beginners who want fundamentals and a certificate cheaply. Skip if: you want a full, portfolio-building diploma.
3. Online diplomas: The Interior Design Institute & NYIAD
If you want a substantial program that ends in a recognized diploma and a real portfolio, two schools dominate the online space: The Interior Design Institute and the New York Institute of Art and Design (NYIAD). Both are tutor-supported, project-based diplomas that typically run several months to a couple of years part-time and cost in the rough range of $1,000–3,000. They are a serious step up from a video course — you submit assignments and get feedback — and they’re aimed at people who want to start a decorating or e-design business.
One honesty note: a diploma from these schools is a credible portfolio credential, but it is not the same as a CIDA-accredited degree or professional licensure. For decorating, styling, and e-design work it’s plenty; for regulated commercial interior design it is not. (We don’t have an affiliate relationship with either school — they’re here because they’re the honest answer for this intent.)
The truth about “interior design certification”
This is the part most “best interior design certification” articles skip. The genuine professional credential in the United States and Canada is the NCIDQ Certification from the Council for Interior Design Qualification. It is not a course you buy — it requires a combination of an interior design degree (ideally CIDA-accredited) and documented work experience before you can even sit the exam. It is what lets you legally call yourself a “certified interior designer” in many jurisdictions.
So be clear about which goal you have. If you want to decorate homes, style spaces, or run an e-design service, the courses and diplomas above are the right path and the word “certificate” is fine. If you want to practise as a licensed commercial interior designer, your route is a CIDA-accredited degree, then experience, then the NCIDQ — and an online video course is only the very first taste of that journey.
Learning the software
Professional interior design runs on software, and this is where Udemy genuinely shines — not for a full design education, but for tool-specific skills. If you need to produce drawings and renders, look for well-rated Udemy courses in SketchUp, AutoCAD, Revit, or 3ds Max for interiors. These are cheap, practical, and exactly what a course-based platform does best. Add one once you’ve decided interior design is for you and you need to make presentable plans.
Key skills these courses build
- Space planning — arranging a room so it functions and flows.
- Colour and materials — building palettes and combining textures and finishes.
- Lighting — layering ambient, task, and accent light, the detail amateurs most often miss.
- Styling and composition — the finishing layer that makes a room feel designed.
- Drawings and presentation — mood boards, floor plans, and renders to communicate a scheme.
Career paths
The skills lead to several routes that don’t all require licensure: interior decorator (styling and furnishing, no license needed), e-design / online room design (a fast-growing remote service), home staging, and — with a degree and the NCIDQ — professional interior designer on commercial and regulated projects. The course-and-diploma path above is well-suited to the first three; only the last requires the formal credential.
How to choose
- Just exploring? Pair Kelly Wearstler’s MasterClass with the free audit of the Coursera course.
- Starting a decorating or e-design business? A diploma from The Interior Design Institute or NYIAD gives you a portfolio and structure.
- Want to practise professionally? Plan for a CIDA-accredited degree and the NCIDQ — start with a course to confirm it’s your path.
- Already designing, need drawings? Add a Udemy SketchUp, AutoCAD, or Revit course.
Free and low-cost ways to start
You don’t need to spend much to find out whether interior design is for you:
- Audit the Coursera course free — you get the full lessons without paying; you just skip the certificate and graded work.
- YouTube — established designers post genuinely useful walkthroughs on space planning, colour, and styling. It’s unstructured but free, and a good taste of the craft.
- Your library — the classic interior design textbooks (and design magazines) are free to borrow, and reading widely is how you build a visual vocabulary.
- A LinkedIn Learning trial — if you have access through work or a library, it has solid short courses on the fundamentals.
Start free, and only pay for a diploma once you’re sure you want to take it further — the expensive programs are worth it for a portfolio and structure, not for testing the water.
Are interior design courses worth it?
For learning the craft and starting a decorating or e-design business, yes — a good course or diploma compresses years of trial and error into a structured path, and the inspiration-plus-fundamentals combination we recommend costs very little to begin. The one place to be careful is expectations: if your goal is to practise as a licensed professional, a course is the first step, not the destination, and the real investment is the degree and the NCIDQ. Match the spend to the goal and interior design courses are well worth it; buy a $3,000 diploma expecting it to license you and you’ll be disappointed.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best online interior design course?
For building a design eye, Kelly Wearstler’s MasterClass. For structured fundamentals plus a certificate, the “Blueprint to Brilliance Through Interior Design” course on Coursera (4.4 from ~170 reviews, free to audit). For a full diploma and portfolio, The Interior Design Institute.
Can I become a certified interior designer with an online course?
Not in the professional sense. The recognized credential is the NCIDQ, which requires an interior design degree (ideally CIDA-accredited) plus work experience. Online courses and diplomas teach the skills and can support a decorating or e-design business, but they don’t grant professional certification on their own.
How much do interior design courses cost?
A MasterClass subscription is about $10–15/month billed annually. The Coursera course is free to audit or included in a subscription. Online diplomas from The Interior Design Institute or NYIAD typically run $1,000–3,000 depending on the program.
What’s the difference between an interior decorator and an interior designer?
Decorators focus on furnishings, colour, and styling and don’t need a license; the online courses and diplomas here are aimed at this path. Interior designers work on the built environment, including regulated commercial projects, and typically need a degree and the NCIDQ.